Justice Kemal Pasha, who retired from the Kerala High Court in 2018, opined that as long as Article 25 and Article 26 are in force and the Indian Constitution is valid there is no question of a Hindu-centric or a Muslim-centric nation.

He said this in a chat with IANS.

Justice Pasha said that the Indian nation is based on the Constitution of the country and added that there will not be any problem for the Muslim community or for that matter any other community as the Constitution is the basis of running the country.

"In the Constitution the country is addressed as India and Bharat,."

Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former judge said people like Modi address the country as "Hindustan".

"This type of addressing the country may be a deliberate attempt to create a subtle impact on the subconscious mind of the people. As long as the Constitution is the driving force such addresses should not be made," emphasised Pasha.

He pointed out that the living conditions of the backward class communities including Muslims have improved manifold owing to education.

"Education is the tool to liberation and people should give priority in educating their children. The government policies must help in the upliftment of the downtrodden," said Pasha.

(IANS)